The last day of the CRC contracts will be a poignant one for all of us. Today marks the last day of the failed and dangerous “Transforming Rehabilitation” (TR) experiment. Breaking up Probation and selling contracts to allow companies to make profits from criminal justice was reckless and we fought it all the way. I am sure many will today be remembering the rallies, the marches, the strikes, the legal action that we threw ourselves into in a desperate attempt to protect our clients, the communities we serve and our profession.
We didn’t win the fight and TR went ahead in 2014 followed in early 2015 by the sale of the contracts. We didn’t stop campaigning but the wonderful Probation People who work in the system did everything they could to continue to support clients to change their lives, to ensure victims were heard in decision making and to protect the public by preventing future victims. Our campaigning slogan was ‘One Probation, One Profession’ and I am wearing my T-shirt with this on today, hoping to strike a pro-social tone about the future and avoiding saying “we told you so”.
As time went on it was clear that the contracts weren’t working, there was no money to be made from crime and the contract owners faced a stark choice. To satisfy the need for profit some cut services back as far as possible, got rid of as many staff as they could and introduced dangerous operating models. Others continued to try to deliver quality services and invested by bearing costs relating to this but there were tough times all round. Throughout all of this Probation People continued to do what they do best – to deliver a service despite the system around them, to find ways to do what was right for their clients and communities regardless of the obstacles put in their way.
Life hasn’t been much better for those moved into the National Probation Service during this accidental nationalisation project. Probation was never a centralised service and never in the civil service. TR brought both things about, removing the localised responsive service that was so vital in serving communities and individuals. Being a ‘non-departmental government body’ allowed Probation Services to be delivered in the public sector but at a remove from the Civil Service, ensuring that practitioners had freedom to think critically about the work they were doing, and the system and context in which they were doing it. The initial drive to fill the CRCs with as many staff as possible saw all of the support infrastructure from Probation Trusts arbitrarily allocated to CRCs. This left individuals facing redundancy in CRCs and NPS areas completely unable to cope.
Some CRCs did a good job in really tough circumstances, but the reality is that the premise of TR was flawed from the start and a fractured service could never work. Both CRCs and the NPS failed to deliver. The consequences have been tragic. An exodus of staff taking the opportunity to retire or leaving due to burnout or simply because they could no longer face working in such a dangerous way. Clients not receiving the support they needed struggled to make the changes they wanted to make to their lives, or to navigate their sentence successfully. Victim Liaison Officers with several hundred cases to oversee struggled to ensure that their clients got the service they deserved, leaving victims struggling to understand complex processes and to have their voice heard. Most tragically serious further offences increased and this means that there were more victims of devastating crimes committed by people who were under Probation supervision at the time. The stress, and distress, caused by knowing that you are working in an unsafe way and that more people will suffer such devastating consequences is immeasurable and the damage to people, to their loved ones and to communities can never be repaired.
So now the CRC contracts have ended and core services will be delivered by the new Probation Service with specialist support services contracted out. The process of transition for those staff who are moving has already been stressful, distressing and at times completely confusing. We face months more of confusion, distress and stress as the Probation Service reforms itself to fit the new scope of it’s work.
We have achieved one of our goals – to have all Probation Services delivered in the Public Sector but we must strive for more. Napo’s demands for the future of Probation will now continue to be to release Probation from Prisons and the Civil Service and to bring local responsivity and accountability to delivery of services. Finally we demand that Probation Practice be based on evidence not whim or cost. Napo will continue to be the voice for Probation People and our Profession and will continue to fight to restore and repair Probation.
#ReunifiedProbation #FreeProbation